36 HISTORY OF GARDEMNG. P a r t I.
The gardens o f the Quirinal Palace occupy a fino situation, overlooking great part of Rome ; and art
has adorned them with the Papal arms in coloured sand, slags, broken pots, and otlicr beauties ot that
sort. (rPboii's ^'C., vol. i. p. 452.) ^ r
The ViUa Borghcse ( ¡ig 23.) is tho most noted in the neighbourhood of Rome. It has a variety ot
surface formed by two hills and a dell, and a variety of embellishments, casinos, temples, grottocp
aviaries, modern ruins, sculptured fountains, a crowd of statues, a lake, an aqueduct, mid a circus; but it
wants the more beautiful variety of an English garden; for here you must walk in right lines, and turn
at right angles, fatigued with the monotony of eternal ilex (Q. /'le x ). {Remarks, &c., p. 216.) Eustace
says these gai-deiis are laid out with some regard both for tlie new and th e old system, because winding
walks are to be found intersecting th e long alleys. This is t r u e ; but the whole is so frittered down
by roads, walks, paths, and alleys, and so studded with statues and objects of art, as to want that
repose, simplicity, and massive appearance, essential, a t least, to an Englishman’s idea of an English
garden. Simplicity, however, is a beauty less relished among the nations of the (fontment than m this
’ less relished by the Italians than by any other continental nation. The Villa Borghese,
country, and Wood observes,uu^uivcs, is a garden, or pleasure-ground, said to be th ree miles in m circumference, with shady
walks, which he
he found delightful as early as the 4th of February, and tall stone pines scattered about
more onen narts. These trees, and th e evergreen oaks, are the most important circumstances m the
th e open Yvaii-a.6 . . . - — ------ — ..........— —-j--------- - , „
beauty of the place. T h ere is a pretty lake, and a considerable variety of ground and ot scenery ; and
several buildings, not perhaps very beautiful in themselves, but assisting th e general character of the
place. Art appears every where, but not obtrusively, and without pretence. {Letters o f an Architect,
'"'^Z7/e')^iapH/?ft’displays the most architectural gardens of any about Rome. Here, as Forsyth observes,
hedges of laurels, porticoes of ûuércus P le x , green scutcheons, and clipped coronets, are seen vegetating
over half an acre, with theatres of jets d ’eau, geometrical terraces, built rocks, and measured cascades.
The Villa d’Este. Tradition says that Ariosto lived here, with his friend Cardinal Ipnohto, and wrote
great part of his Orlando. {Graham’s Three Months in the Mountains near Rome.) Fhe construction
of this villa, Wood observes, “ is on a scale which may entitle it to be mentioned among these ancient
productions. Terrace rises above terrace, and a copious supply of water rushes down an artificial rock
34 feet in height, spreading in a beautiful manner as it descends ; while the whole is crowned by the
long facade o fth e palace.” {Letters q fa n Architect, &c., vol. ii. p. 67.) Cadell found this villa, in 1818
(as we did in 1819), in a very neglected state. {Travels, Sec., p. 457.)
111. A numher o f Other Reman villas xmghi be enumerated; bnt, as far as respects
gardens, the description, if faithful, would be tiresome and monotonous. Even Eustace
allows that, “ liowsocver Italian gardens may differ in extent and magnificence, their
principal featvu'cs arc all nearly the same ; tho same with regard to artificial as well as
natural graces. Some ancient remains arc to be found in all, and several in most of
them. They are all adorned with the same evcrgi-cens, and present, upon a greater or
less scale, the same Italian and ancient scenery. They arc in general much neglected,
but for that reason the more mral.. {Classical Tour, vol. i. p. 18.)
112. A t Frascati, Bclvidcre, a villa of Prince Borghcse, commands most glorious
prospects, and is itself a fine object, from the scenic eficct of its front and approaches.
Behind the palace is an aquatic stream, which flows from Mount Algidns, dashes precipitately
down a succession of ten-aces, and is tonnentcd below into a variety of tricks,
'•pi..., cnmvic oliur. at thn. tnvnino- nf fl rnnk. Water attacks vou on evcrv
Water is made to blow the trumpet of a centaur and the pipe of a cyclops; water plays
two org an s; makes tho birds warble, and the muses tune their reed s; _ sets Pegasus
neighing, and all Parnassus on music. “ I remark,” says Forsyth, “ this magnificent
toy as a specimen of Italian hydraulics. Its sole object is to surprise strangers; for all
the pleasure that its repetitions can impart to the owners, is but a faint reflection from the
pleasure of others.” {Ibid.)
B o o k I. ITALIAN GARDENS. 37
113. A t Naples the gardens possess the same general character as those of Rome,
though, with the exception of Caseita, they are less magnificent. They are more indebted
to their architecture, and the luxuriance of vegetation, tlian to the gardener ; and
then- greatest beauty is to be found in tlic combination of ti-cUised vines, and piers,
pillars, and arches of masonry, A villa on the steep bank on the coast of Pausiilipo
{ fg . 24.) affords a fine example of this description of beauty.
24
The royal gardens ofPortici, in 1819, were chiefly walled cultivated enclosures, abounding in oranges,
figs, and grapes, with straight alleys and wooded quarters entirely for shade. T h ere is one small de-
jmrtment, ot a few perches, devoted to the English ta s te ; but it is too small to give any idea of th a t style.
Ih e re is also a spot called i / r / ’fli'on/rt, in which, says.Starke (Xc«<?rs, v o l.ii.p . 126.), the late king placed
swings and wooden horses, or hurly-burlies (such as are to be seen a t our fairs), for his own particular
amusement, and th at of his nobility. The approach to this garden is through the palace court, great
p a rt of which is occupied as a barrack by troops. T h e filth and stench of this court is incredible; and
yet It IS overlooked b y th e wmdowsof the king’s dining-room, where he was sitting at dinner, on his return
from the chase, when we passed through th e palace, on th e 2d of August, 1819. We know no scene
to which It could be compared, but that of th e court of some of th e large Russian inns in the suburbs of
St, Petersburgh.
Extensive gai-dens o f pots and boxes are common on th e roofs of th e palaces and other houses in Naples.
Viewed from the streets they have a singular effect, and, retaining their beauty and fragrance, from the
fresh breezes in these elevated regions, and the comparative absence of that stench with which the
lower atmosphere of Naples is almost continually cliarged, they are very agreeable to the possessors.
^ The royal residence o f Caserta is about seventeen miles from Naples. This palace, in which, as
Forsyth observes, th e late king sought grandeur from every dimension, is situated in an immense plain,
and is a quadrangle, the front of which is upwards of seven hundred feet long. It was begun in 1752,
roofed in 1757, but in 1819 was not, and probably never will be, finished. The park extends from the
palace to a range of mountains a t two miles’ distance, some of which it includes. It may be said to
consist of four parts; open pasture, almost without trees, near the palace; woody scenery, or thick
groves and copses, partly near to, but chiefly a t a considerable distance from, the palace ; mountainous
scenery, devoted to game and th e chase, in the extreme distance; and an English garden on one side,
skirting the mountains. T h ere are, besides, St. Lucio, a large village, a sllk-manufactory, a farm, &c.;
all of which are described by different tourists,—minutely by Vasi, in his Guide to Naples and its En-
virons; and plans of the wliole are given by L. Vanvitelli, in his Disegni del Reale Palazzo di Caserta.
Ehc cascade and canal o f Caserta constitute Its most remarkable feature, and th a t which renders tliis
D 3